Digging up the Marrow

This weekend I decided to be a little adventurous with my eating. It was definitely an interesting adventure. Saturday morning my mom and I hit the 91 East and headed to 

Grits Fullerton.

I saw an Instagram post about this place about 2 weeks ago and I was a little curious. The restaurant claims to be "slap yo mama good and delivers unique, original and flavorful comfort food." Those are some mighty big claims so I had to see for myself. 

Our meal started with broth. ($2) This was definitely a first for me. Its normal to go to a restaurant and maybe have soup or salad before your meal. However, I've never been somewhere that offered broth. I wanted the full experience so, I ordered the broth. It was smoked turkey, leeks, dried cranberries and golden raisins. It wasn't bad. I just didn't understand its purpose. 

My absolute favorite part of the meal was our appetizer .... chicken skins($7)!!! Yes, I said chicken skins. I'd never heard of such a thing but they were delicious. They came lightly seasoned with a sweet and spicy sauce. Mom and I really enjoyed them. 

My mom ordered the pork and grits which is a Dr. Pepper braised pork shank, white grits and dried bing cherries ($21). She enjoyed it. I had a taste and it wasn't bad. We both agreed that it could have used more seasoning. My mom went on to say that they should have brined the pork to make it more flavorful. The majority of the flavor came from the sauce. It was definitely  a good sauce but not enough to carry the whole meal. 

My meal is where the adventure comes in. I ordered biscuits and marrow($13) with a side of bacon caramelized onion rice grits ($3). Before I decided to try bone barrow for the first time I reached out to the good people of Instagram and asked how it was. Everyone who had tried it loved it. So, I decided to give it a go. Welp, the people of Instagram let me down. I know you see the thumbs up on my shirt in the background but do not be fooled. I have to give bone marrow a thumbs down. It was a fatty jello like substance with no taste. My server told me I could spread it on my biscuit and eat it with the jam for a sweet and savory flavor. I did that and I was missing the savory. I'm assuming this method is a butter alternative but I would prefer the butter. Even when I ate the marrow straight from the bone my tastebuds got nothing. Now my grits, though they had flavor, were interesting. I'm a grits and sugar type of gal. These were definitely a savory grit with more of an oatmeal or porridge type of consistency. They weren't bad but I still prefer a sweet grit or an occasional cheese grit. 

Overall the food wasn't bad it just wasn't for me. While I was there I saw other plates that I'd consider giving a try like...pancake balls, tri-tip and eggs, and the pork belly plate.  You should give it a try for yourself and tell me how you liked it. 

#Food

She's my favorite girl

This weekend was my moms birthday and boy did we celebrate! We started out Saturday on a trip to Catalina Island. I'm upset with myself for not going sooner. Its absolutely beautiful and only an hour boat ride away. I felt like I was far far away from California. 

As soon as we touched down on the island we grabbed breakfast at Luau Larry's I had the Huevos Rancheros it was pretty darn good.

 After breakfast we did a little walking around before we finally decided to see what tours were available. After a little deliberation we decided on the Glass Bottom Boat Voyage. It was pretty cool. The ride was a little rocky but no one got sick. We cruised to Lover’s Cove Marine Preserve, where colorful fish and marine plants thrive among the kelp forests" 

 Then, we rented golf carts and drove around the island for 3 and a half hours. All that sightseeing wore us out so we changed our trip back from 9:30 to 7:30 and headed home. Little did she know she had a long day ahead of her Sunday.

I had a surprise for my mom on Sunday. She though we were going to eat at Mastros Ocean Club Malibu but I had a detour for her. We were going on a safari!! Not a regular safari but a wine tasting safari at Malibu Wine Safaris. 

I finally got to wear this dress I purchased for my cancun trip back in May. I thought the hat made it all look a little more safari-ish lol. Both hat and dress are from Forever 21. 

The vineyard was absolutely beautiful, the wine was delicious and we got to feed animals. We definitely enjoyed ourselves. I'd highly suggest this tour. 

When we finished the safari we had just enough time to make our reservation at Mastro's. I made our reservation on Open Table and was so happy they accommodated my request for an ocean view table.  

The food was pretty good but nothing spectacular. This was my second time at Mastro's. Neither time was I wowed by anything other than the price.  I ordered the sautéed scallops.  We all shared the sides which were lobster mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, creamed corn and gorgonzola macaroni and cheese. 

No birthday dinner would be complete without dessert. I know that Mastro's gives a complementary chocolate cake for birthday celebrations but I wanted my mom to have the butter cake I've heard so much about. My waiter informed me that they would have to charge me but he could bring both out on the plate together. I decided to ball out and go ahead and buy her the dessert. When the dessert came my waiter surprised me and said he paid for our butter cake. He was really great throughout the whole dining experience but that was the icing on the cake. Now, I wasn't impressed with the butter cake. I heard so much about it. That just goes to show that you can't always believe the hype. My mom actually like the chocolate cake better. 

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My mom has spoiled me since birth. It felt great to turn the tables and spoil her. She enjoyed her birthday. ( Pats self on back) 

Love, Peace & Sooooooouuul Food

My lunch today absolutely gave me LIFE! My mother's birthday is Saturday and I treated her to M&Ms Soulfood in Carson to kick off the celebration. I had the Oxtail lunch special with dressing and string beans. Plus I got a pork chop a la carte. I know you're probably thinking daaaaaaang that's a lot of food. However, I didn't eat it all. I ate the Oxtail and half of the sides. The pork chop was ordered to go with the rest of my sides and be eaten later for dinner at work. Smart huh? Well, it was all delicious and the sweet tea I washed it all down with made it even better.

It's Monday right?

I was scrolling through Facebook yesterday when I stumbled upon this fine specimen of a man. A million thanks to Obvious Magazine for posting these pictures of Omarion Ryan. He's a fitness model who was born in Dubai and is currently living in the UK. Am I the only one who is wondering how much a flight to the UK is? LoL

I know you ladies want the goods! 

Follow him

 Instagram  @ommie10 

Snapchat Ommie10

#MCM

So good I had it twice: I scream, You scream

When my mother told me she wanted to try a new local ice cream shop it only took me a matter of seconds to hop on yelp and determine we'd be there that night. The reviews were great and they had a variety of flavors like Biscuits and Jam, Strawberry Mascarpone, and Lemon Blue Black.

On my first visit I sampled Ginger Peach, Whiskey Vanilla and St. Blueberry. The Ginger Peach flavor wasn't what I expected but it tasted just like its name ... Ginger and Peach. It wasn't bad but I decided to go with a scoop of Whiskey Vanilla and St. Blueberry. Whiskey Vanilla is my favorite so far. It taste just like the name... Whiskey and Vanilla. St. Blueberry tasted like a Vanilla mixed with a berry swirl. After visiting their website Long Beach Creamery I found out that it is so much more than that. Here is a description of the flavors from the website.

GINGER PEACH – Fresh ginger and organic peaches flavor the ice cream and jam mix in. Pralined pecans add a southern crunch – making Ginger Peach the belle of the ball! Ingredients: organic cream, organic nonfat milk, organic cane sugar, organic egg yolk, organic buttermilk, organic peach & ginger jam, pralined pecans, vanilla, cream cheese, salt.

WHISKEY VANILLA* – Not your typical vanilla – Rebel Yell whiskey help to highlight the smooth vanilla flavor of this classic ice cream. Ingredients: organic cream, organic nonfat milk, organic cane sugar, organic egg yolk, organic sweet cream buttermilk, Rebel Yell, Cream Cheese, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Bean, Sea Salt. * Liquor has been added for flavor – food grade – most alcohol cooked off.

ST. BLUEBERRY – Deeply cheesy goat cheese vanilla ice cream with a blueberry jam spiked with Elderberry liquor. Ingredients: organic cream, organic nonfat milk, organic cane sugar, organic egg yolk, organic buttermilk, goat cheese, blueberry jam, elderberry liquor, vanilla, salt.

Now as you can see this ain't your normal ice cream. It was soooooooo good that I had to return about 24 hours later.

Now last night my mom went with the Whiskey Vanilla & Reverse Turtle so, I already knew what I was going to get today. However, once I got there I had to taste something. I tried the Cashew Fennel Chip and Lemon Blue Black. Both were good but I was leaning towards the Lemon Blue Black. It was a tough decision but I went with my first mind and got the Whiskey Vanilla & Reverse Truffle. Oh and I added a fresh baked waffle cone. So fresh I had to wait for it to be made. I know you're curious about those new flavors so here is the info.

CASHEW FENNEL CHIP – Toasted cashews and a milk chocolate chip highlight a savory fennel ice cream. Ing: organic cream, organic nonfat milk, organic cane sugar, organic egg yolk, organic buttermilk, toasted cashews, cream cheese, fennel cream, chocolate chip, vanilla bean, salt.

LEMON BLUE BLACK – A sweet tart treat for your tongue. Organic Meyer lemons sourced by beachgreens and cooked into a simple syrup paired with our blueberry/blackberry jam. Ingredients: organic cream, organic nonfat milk, organic cane sugar, organic egg yolk, organic sweet cream buttermilk, Meyer Lemon Syrup, Blueberry & Blackberry Jam Cream Cheese, Sea Salt.

REVERSE TURTLE – Fashioned after the DeMint candy called Turtle. Reverse Turtle uses our Burnt Caramel ice cream adds a fudge swirl and full sized pralined pecans. Ingredients: organic cream, organic nonfat milk, organic cane sugar, organic egg yolk, organic buttermilk, demerera sugar, organic sucunant, fudge swirl, pralined pecans, cream cheese, salt.

All in all I give Long Beach Creamery two thumbs up. The location is clean. The staff is so very friendly and the ice cream is nothing short of amazing. 

Food

First things first ... I'm not a blogger.

I'm not a blogger. I'm not a foodie. I'm not a fashionista. Or am I? I just created this blog. I love food. I love fashion. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't expect perfection. I'm just a regular gal who decided to write about her love for food fashion and life. I hope you enjoy.

Life